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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Last fall at Click Away I roomed with two wonderful ladies, including Krista Lund. Recently she posted a True Story post on her blog and similarly to how I knew I needed to steal Lacey's idea for my Seasons post, I knew I wanted to borrow Krista's theme for a post here.

----So here it goes…

true story I am counting down the days for Maui.

true story I so thankful to have my excitement for blogging and photography return after a season of quiet.

true story I have become obsessed with looking at new homes.

true story I can't wait to go out this summer and spend time paddling boarding.

true story I am thinking that my anxiety might be closely related to what I'm eating for dinner, or then again how much coffee I've been drinking, or really maybe how stressful my day was in the office.

true story I might sometimes pretend to be asleep when the boy wakes in the middle of the night just so Jason will be the one to get up, but those nights I do get up I am so thankful to be able to comfort my boy, cover him back up and kiss him as he fades back to slumber.

true story I love bath salts.

true story I love the act of finishing something, anything from using the last address label on the sheet so the paper can get thrown out, or crossing some nagging item off the to-do list.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Saturday, March 28, 2015

I love this time of year. The days are growing longer. The temperatures are rising. The closets are shifting from sweaters and long pants, to shorts and t-shirts. It creates an anticipation for the warmer days ahead, the summer months that are a few flips of the calendar away. I can't wait for the green grass, the slurpees, the swimming, the daily park adventures, summer is my favorite.

Friday, March 27, 2015

He is my joy. He is my whole world, my night, my day. He is my dreams, my hopes. He is the future. He knows me unlike anyone else. The bond, the connection; it is love in its purest form. He brings me the greatest highs, and picks me up from the greatest lows. He is the reason for my fears and tears, and also my loudest and proudest cheers. He is my boy. My son. My one and only sweet, sweet child.

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.”

- Debra Ginsberg

"Making the decision to have a child -- it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

- Elizabeth Stone

“No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you’re the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.”

Thursday, March 26, 2015

From previous posts about his Bookworm Birthday Party to seeing him in his crib with a favorite book or seeing him with piles of books, my little guy continues to be an avid reader. It is fun now because he will read to himself, and engages much more with the reading experience.

We have tried to start reading chapter books, but I think we might wait a few more months for those as he really enjoys the variety reading several books in one evening. I do love that our books are starting to get a plot and are longer in length though.

A few favorites continue to be Karma Wilson's bear books (thank you to the White family for sharing this well loved bear with us). The little guy knows these books by heart and helps us read them, even adding his own background story about the bear's expressions. He is also still enjoying Goodnight Baseball and Goodnight Football. Pete the Cat will light a fire in his eye, and every time we read a new one will be pulled from the shelves to trigger our imaginations.

I've found the best selection of used children's books to be at the Savers located on C-470 and Quebec for all the locals who are looking to add to their collections. They always have seasonal books for upcoming holidays, a good mix of paperback and hardback, and a really awesome range of age options from picture books, to early readers, to young adult chapter books. I typically can get about 10 books for under $5.00, so every few weeks we make a stop to see if there is anything we want to buy. The great thing with the used purchases is if we don't find some new ones we love, we can always pass them on to friends or donate them back again.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Saturday, March 21, 2015

The year is almost a third gone... I decided I'd post a few of my favorite memories captured on my phone.

Top to Bottom:

My boy peeking into the yard on a snowy morning. ||| Momma and son love ||| Getting so clean ||| Some new DIY bedroom artwork for the boy ||| My boy being a big helper shoveling, he loves it! ||| Watching the sunset on the way to Chicago for work ||| Selfies! ||| Car rides are still exhausting at three years old.

Friday, March 20, 2015

One of my favorite photographers recently posted about why she is cherishing this season of life, and it really spoke to me as the various seasons of life have been on my heart and on my mind over the last few weeks. Maybe it is the cusp of the actual changing seasons here as spring slowly rounds the corner, or maybe it is the silent prayers that this season's hardships lighten into the beauty and rebirth of a new season ahead, or maybe it is just watching before my eyes that a season of growth is gracefully moving us into the season to come.

So stealing a page from Lacey's blog, I want to take a minute to record the now, to record what I'm loving in this very season before times slips away and I realize we have moved into the next phase, the next milestones, the next season.

I love your joyous squeals when you see a bridge in the distance.
I love your sweet kisses on my cheeks that end with your whisper of "There, that's better."
I love your tender "I'm sorry mom, mom you ok?" when you know my frustrations run high.

I love that if we ask you where you want to sleep, you always say "Mommy's bed, we watch houses."
I love that you pick me, that we can snuggle and you know my routine is to watch House Hunters before bed.

I love that you still wake up stuck in the holiday season and run to the top of the stairs and declare your disappointment that the tree isn't there, and the has snow has melted. Christmas is my heart all year long too little buddy.

I love that you still carry a blanket around, and can't sleep without one.
I love recalling memories of you wearing a certain outfit as I pack away your clothes that have become to tight, to short, to small.
I love that as you get dressed in the morning you always let us know that your clothes are "too big" or "too small" even though your clothes fit just right.

I love that no matter what time of the day it is, you will always eagerly say you want to eat chicken nuggets.

I love that on the days I pick you up from school you chatter the whole way home. That we are finally able to have conversations about your day and what you did.

Really I just love you!

-------------------Thanks friends for sticking with my silent posts over the last few months. This season, that I want to cherish and remember has also been a season with little blogging time. I've missed it, and hope that as time keeps marching that it brings a season in which I can return with words and photos.

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